Monday, September 30, 2013

Walgreen's Good & Delish Banana Split Ice Cream

[By Nick] When Walgreens launched their Good & Delish line of premium ice creams, they also rebranded their house brand Walgreens ice cream to the Good & Delish Home Style line. I tried the majority of those flavors back when they were still under the Walgreens name so I thought I’d pick up one of their old flavors to see if there was any change to the formula or if it’s just a cosmetic change. Now we don’t review many Banana flavored things on here because Dubba’s not a fan but I actually am. Well, I have to be in the right mood for it, but when I have a craving, it has to be satisfied!

This is exactly why my first choice was their Banana Split Home Style Ice Cream. This flavor is made up of Banana ice cream with maraschino cherries, chopped pineapple and chocolate fudge. While not exactly a traditional banana split, it has a majority of the components.

I might be mistaken but I don’t recall the original having a protective seal but it is highly appreciated. Heck, it’s even textured for no reason at all!

With the seal off, there’s really no indication as to what this flavor is. On looks alone I would think it was a chocolate/vanilla mix. Tasting a spoonful changes all of that. The base is full of that artificial banana goodness. I suck at describing that flavor but I’m pretty sure you know what I’m talking about. I dig this flavor but I know it’s a polarizing taste. This is exactly the same pint of Walgreens ice cream they use to carry just in different packaging. I was actually hoping they would reformulate things but hey, I’m not the big company here.

The ice cream is very fluffy and light, reminding more of something from the Edy’s Slow Churned line. After the banana flavor dissipates, you have the chocolate fudge taking over. Let’s be honest Walgreens, this is chocolate syrup and not fudge. It’s way too liquidy and not thick enough to be consider fudge. In all honesty, this reminds me of the Hershey’s syrup I grew up on (which isn’t a bad thing).

The combination of banana and chocolate works well here but there are two more components to this pint: maraschino cherries and chopped pineapple. The former are quite prevalent throughout the pint giving a sundae feel to this one. The cherries add a nice chewiness to the pint with no signs of iciness. The chopped pineapple on the other hand is practically nonexistent. I think I tasted it once and I couldn’t really discern much of a texture change. Not surprising seeing as pineapple is 2nd to last on the ingredients list in front of the ambiguous “natural flavors” and the stabilizers used.

As far as banana flavored desserts go, this one isn’t bad but it isn’t all that good either. I think I’ll stick with Chunky Monkey for my banana ice cream cravings. I guess if you really enjoy banana flavored things, this one comes in at less than half the calories of Chunky Monkey so you could technically eat the whole pint for less calories than a half pint of B&J’s. Still given the choice, I’d go with a smaller sample of B&J’s.

@Danielle: I don't think I've seen Turkey Hill's but I know I've seen Friendly's version. If I can find both it would make for a ice Friday Night Fight.

@Ibagoalie: Yeah, this one was definitely missing the strawberry component. I'm indifferent when it comes to whipped cream. I don't mind it but it's not something I crave so that element wasn't all that missed.